A mentor I have worked closely with the last year recently shared the best advice I’ve received my entire academic career. She is someone who is not only intelligent but intentional in that she thinks 7 steps ahead. She has taught me to map out my deadlines, goals, and by doing so, the best path to get there.

And I don’t say this figuratively. In constructing a thesis project and striving to continue education after my master’s program, she introduced me to Gantt charts. Titled “MScGH Overview”, mine has amounted to be an all-encompassing calendar and due date map that sets expectations and creates pathways, ultimately helping me stay on track.

But that isn’t the life altering advice I was given, that shifted my mindset entirely. Like the Gantt chart, that was an introduction to the best advice I’ve ever received, a means of mapping out not only the idea, but how to … okay I’m getting ahead of myself.

Imagine a life where every project, task, or paper is strategically done. One where your end goals and lifelong pursuits are envisioned and then you utilize every opportunity along the way to get there.

That is the mindset of a resume builder.

Whichever stage of life you’re in, how are you preparing yourself for the next?

My mentor asked me this. She tasked me with filling assessing the gaps in my resume by writing a medical school personal statement. This highlighted the many qualifications I would like to build towards as well as how I am currently working towards those goals.

By examining where you want to be and how you want your resume to look like at, say, 35, every assignment you embark on from here on out can work towards that. Your energy that would otherwise be expended in non-useful ways can instead be redirected for maximum output.

Whether this is an on-campus job, and minimum wage position, or a class project, someone with the mindset of a resume builder will assess their opportunities and think “which skills can I gain here vs there to get to where I want to be?”

Like any other important project, it is essential to map out your life goals. Assess your passions and which areas you are compelled to conquer. From there discover pathways and connections that build up your person in unimaginable ways.